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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Kulitha Koddel~Horse Gram Curry

Horse gram or Muthira(Malayalam),Kollu(Tamil),Kulith(Konkani) is one of the lesser known beans.It is an excellent source of Iron and is believed to prevent the formation of stones in the kidney.Even though many regard Kulith as horse food,it is used widely in the cuisines of South India and Konkani cuisine is no different.Amma used to prepare Kulitha saaru,similar to rasam and insisted we finished it with our pej/kanji.I used to dislike it and made a big fuss whenever she prepared this.This was not an everyday curry as we did not use much pulses in our cooking back then.Sometimes,amma would feel like cooking it and it used to pop up.I remember quite well,always we used to tell her that it was horse feed and we are not supposed to eat it!!

As luck would have it[:)],hubby is a totally pulses person.He wouldn't mind if I prepared variations of SaarUpkari seven days a week!!Last time we went grocery shopping,he took a packet of Kulith and said it was ages since he had it and I have to prepare something with it soon.That packet stared at me whenever I opened my shelf.I didn't want to prepare the usual curries with it so as usual,I searched my cookbooks and came up with an authentic Mangalore-South Kanara curry-Koddel.It is a curry with a coconut base and a garlic seasoning.It can be prepared with any beans/pulses,it is also called Bendi.It can also be prepared with any vegetables of your choice.Kulitha koddel was delicious and we loved it.Hubby said it was perfect in taste and almost like his amma's..yay!!!

Wash the horse gram well and cook till soft,I cooked in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes.Add drumsticks and cook till soft.Grind grated coconut with red chillies and tamarind to a fine paste.Add this masala to the cooked kulith-drumstick mix,add salt and let it boil.Simmer for a while and switch off the gas.Crush the garlic cloves a little(do not peel) and fry them in a little oil till brown.(This curry can also be seasoned with Mustard and Curry leaves for those who don't like the taste of Garlic.)Add it to the koddel and serve hot!

Kultha Koddel ...Yum Yum Divya! Adding Drumstick is new to me, we usually add surnu or mande.Love it with Lossune phanna! It has its own great flavour.I like Kultha sarru too...my hubby favourite! But wil never touch pejje...thats one thing i cannot gulp down till date!!